USA > Maryland > An historical view of the government of Maryland : from its colonization to the present day > Part 38
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Chap. VI.] T & TO THE REVOLUTION. 367
were already, in their own estimation, not the mere citizens of petty and distinct settlements, but members in common of the great American family. The very spectacle of an American Con- gress, assembled for the defence of American rights, dissolved half the charm of colonial dependence. Such an issue to such a controversy, was truly " the beginning" of the proverb to the colonies.
After the repeal of the stamp act, the affairs of Maryland remain- ed in a state of tranquillity, evolving no incidents worthy of remem- brance; until a new occasion arose, for testing the capacity of
the colonies, to improve the beginning they had Revival of the design to tax the made in the common defence of their liberties. colonies.
This occasion was soon presented, by a new system of colonial taxation, established by Parliament, in 1767. The origin of this system, as unfolded by the writers of that period, was in perfect correspondence with its policy. It sprang from a minister, who, as described by one of his ablest cotemporaries, was eminently talented and eloquent, yet vain and ostentatious of power, even to weakness ; intrepid in his course, but versatile in his purposes ; a devotee of generous fame, yet stooping to court applause even from the mouths of fools. Such was the man, who is said to have been goaded into the measure of American taxa- tion, by the mere imputation of the fear of attempting it. "You dare not tax America," (said Grenville, the late minister, still clinging to the repudiated principles of the stamp act;) and Townshend resolved upon the tax, to repel the charge of timidity. We would expect such an origin for such a measure. It was still the mere assertion and establishment of the right to tax : and its ' successful issue was only to acquire for Townshend, ever thirsting for novelties, and ambitious of succeeding where other men had filed, the honor of having accomplished his vain-glorious boast, " that he knew how to draw a revenue from the colonies without giving them offence." He could not have selected a more unfor- tunate period for the experiment, nor have recommended it with a more unhappy expression.
His vaunted mode of effecting this design, consisted merely in imposing the tax, by way of a duty on articles of import. The imposition of these duties, was considered but the exercise of the
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[Hist. View.
conceded power to regulate the commerce of the Nature and poli- cy of the mea- pure selected for colonies, and to be justified by the distinction origi- Is accomplish- nally drawn by the colonists themselves, between ment.
internal and external taxation. There was a period, when this insidious approach might 'probably have passed with- out scruple, or at least would not have provoked open rebellion. Oppressive as were the restrictions upon colonial trade, im- posed as the preludes to the stamp act, it required the exer- cise of the novel power involved in the latter, to rouse into open and unbending resistance, the discontents occasioned by the former. An acknowledged right may, for a long time, cloak or protect the abuses of that right; and men will sub- mit to oppressions practised under cover of a legitimate power, which would not for an instant be tolerated, if they sprang from the exercise of a questionable authority. The power to regulate and restrict their commerce at pleasure, was early esta- blished, and had been long exercised over the colonies. It was one under which Grenville, by adopting the system afterwards re- sorted to by Townshend, might possibly have sheltered in securi- ty his design of taxation. He, however, preferred the open assault by a measure, whose avowed object was revenue, and whose instrument was internal taxation. He failed; and his failure sapped even the foundations of the acknowledged power. The oppressions of the restrictive system, were mingled, in the public mind, with those of the stamp act; the power over com- merce came to be considered, as a mere right to promote it by beneficial regulations, and not to impair or dry up its resources ; and the distinction between internal and external taxation, was now generally regarded, as utterly unsound, when applied to justi- fy taxation, without consent, for the mere purpose of revenue. These views were the natural result of such a controversy, as that occasioned by the stamp act; and its favorable termination seemed to have given to them the stamp of authority. Hence we find, that after the repeal of this act, in the more commercial colonies, the restrictions upon their trade were, in general, con- sidered nearly as odious and illegal, as the system just abolished. To expect a people thus situated, fresh from discontents, flushed with victory, and yet unreconciled to existing restrictions, to sit down tamely under the power just resisted and just abandoned,
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merely because it came in a new garb, betrayed either a gross ignorance of their character and sentiments, or an utter destitu- tion of political sagacity. As if to render the expectation more preposterous, the avowed object of the author of this new scheme was taxation for the purpose of revenue, and the very preamble to the act declared this to be its purpose. We would scarcely suppose that even common sagacity could have expected, that a nation of - intelligent freemen, after meeting and repelling the open assault, would fall into such an ambuscade. Yet it was doom ; and who wonders at the conduct of the doomed?
In the face of all these considerations, the views of Townshend and the ministry were adopted ; and an act of parliament was finally passed on the 2d of July, 1767, imposing the new duties on paper, Duty act of 1767 glass in all its varieties, tea, red and white lead, and and the acts ac- companying it. painters' colors, as amongst the articles of most neces- sary consumption; the duties to take effect after the 20th of No- vember ensuing. As if to impart to it new features of oppression, this act was accompanied to the colonies by others passed about the same period, whose objects entitled them to rank as its fellows. The Legislature of New York had dared to disobey the requisi- tions of the mutiny act, so far as it required them to tax themselves for the support of the stationed royal troops; and therefore, by one of these acts, it was put under the ban of the empire, and prohibited from all further legislation until this was yielded. By another, the collection of the customs was put under new regula- tions ; and a board of commissioners was established to superin- tend the trade of the colonies, with powers of appointment and rights of search of a highly alarming nature.
Such combustibles were enough to kindle a flame; and they were soon followed by their probable results. Remonstrances
Opposition of and invectives of the most exciting character were the colonies, and proceedings of let loose upon these acts, in every quarter of the Massachusetts. colonies, and in every form, from the lofty essays of Mr. Dickinson, to the humble pasquinade. The feeling of the country sprang up every where to meet the appeal to its ener- gies : and the spirit of opposition was soon furnished with the expedients of resistance. The apprehensions expressed in one of the celebrated letters of Mr. Dickinson, did but speak the alarm which pervaded the whole country. "It is true, (says he) 47
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that impositions for raising a revenue, may be hereafter called re- gulations of trade ; but names will not change the nature of things. Indeed we ought firmly to believe, what is an undoubted truth, confirmed by the unhappy experience of many states, that unless the most watchful attention be exerted, a new servitude may be slipped upon us under the sanction of usual and respecta- ble terms." So feared the people of the colonies generally : and so fearing, they were scon roused to measures of resistance. The
ยท colony of Massachusetts, at all times jealous of her liberties, and keenly sensible of every thing that affected her commercial in- terests, was again foremost in the proposition of expedients. Her Assembly being convened in January, 1768, a petition against these acts, distinguished by its ability and elevated senti- ments, was addressed by it to the crown, and accompanied by let- ters inviting the co-operation of some of the most prominent and efficient friends of the colonies in England. But its most effec- tual measure was its circular, then addressed to the colonial As- semblies generally, detailing its own operations and inviting their concurrence.
The Assembly of Maryland was not convened after the pas- sage of these obnoxious acts, until the 24th of May, 1768; but in this instance, as in the case of the stamp act, a list the Assembly spirit of indignant opposition was excited, far in Attempts to en- of Maryland a- gainst the de- advance of the Assembly transactions. From the
signs of the Mas- sachusetts Circu- lar.
very annunciation of these measures, the press of the colony, the Maryland Gazette, teemed with all the publications of the day, in opposition to them; and with ex- hortations to stand by the other colonies. The public senti- ment in Maryland, was already matured : and the Massachusetts circular received a prompt and cordial welcome from its As- sembly. That circular, as the signal of colonial concert, and the precursor of another American Congress, struck terror to the hearts of the British ministry; who hitherto seemed to have rested in security, under the unaccountable belief, that the colonies would not again fly to the union, by which they had accomplished their former deliverance. That delusion was now dissipated, but it was succeeded by another equally as sin- gular. They fancied, that their menaces had power to prevent the colonics from listening to the appeals of that circular : and
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in the very injunctions intended to produce that effect, they cha- racterised it by terms of denunciation, sufficient to have ensured it a favorable reception even with the most careless and the least excited. The very dread of concert manifested by the ministry, was enough to indicate to the colonists, that in it lay their hopes of safety. In the circular of 21st April, 176S, addressed by the Earl of Hillsborough, the English Secretary of State, to Sharpe, governor of Maryland, (which corresponds in its tenor with those addressed to the governors of the other colonies,) the Mas- sachusetts letter was depicted "as one deemed, by his majesty, to be of a most dangerous and factious tendency, calculated to inflame the minds of his majesty's good subjects in the colonies, to promote an unwarrantable combination, to excite and encour- age an open opposition to, and denial of, the authority of par- liament, and to subvert the true principles of the constitution :" and the governor was instructed to exert himself to the utmost, in the endeavor to frustrate its designs. If, however, his ma- jesty's great confidence in his subjects of Maryland should prove to be misplaced, and the Assembly should manifest any disposi- tion to give countenance to the proceedings of Massachusetts, he was directed to cut short its inclinations by its immediate prorogation or dissolution, upon the empirical notion, that to close the ordinary orifice of a sore was to heal it. The mes- sage of Governor Sharpe was the mere echo of these injunc- tions: (1) and the admirable reply of the lower house their coun- tercheck.
"In answer to your Excellency's message, (says that reply,) we must observe, that if the letter from the speaker of the House
Message of the of Representatives of the colony of Massachusetts,
Lower House eli- cited by these at. be the same with the letter, a copy of which, you are tempts. pleased to intimate, hath been communicated to the king's ministers; it is very alarming to find, at a time when the people of America think themselves aggrieved by the late acts of parliament imposing taxes on them, for the sole and express pur- pose of raising a revenue, and in the most dutiful manner are sceking redress from the throne, any endeavors to unite in lay - ing before the throne, what is apprehended to be their just com-
(1) Journals of House of Delegates of 25th June, 1768.
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HISTORY FROM THE STAMP ACT [Hist. View.
plaint, should be looked upon 'as a measure of most dangerous and factious tendency, calculated to inflame the minds of his majesty's subjects in the colonies, to promote an unwarrantable combination, to excite and encourage an open opposition to, and denial of, the authority of parliament, and to subvert the true principles of the constitution.' We cannot but view this as an attempt, in some of his majesty's ministers, to suppress all com -. munication of sentiments between the colonies, and to prevent the united supplications of America from reaching the royal ear. We hope, the conduct of this house will ever evince their reverence and respect for the laws, and faithful attachment to the constitution : but we cannot be brought to resent an exertion of the most undoubted right of petitioning the throne, or any en- deavor to procure and preserve an union of the colonies, as an unjustifiable attempt to revive those distractions, which, it is said, have operated so fatally to the prejudice of both the colonies and the mother country. We have the warmest and most affec- tionate attachment to our most gracious sovereign, and shall ever pay the readiest and most respectful regard to the just and con- stitutional power of the British Parliament : but we shall not be intimidated by a few high-sounding expressions, from doing what we think is right. The House of Representatives of the colony of Massachusetts, in their letter to us, have intimated, that they have preferred an humble and loyal petition to the king, and expressed their confidence, that the united and dutiful supplica- tions of his distressed American subjects will meet with his royal and favorable acceptance, and we think they have asserted their rights, with a decent respect for their sovereign, and a due sub- mission to the authority of parliament. What we shall do upon this occasion, or whether in consequence of that letter we shall do any thing, it is not our present business to communicate to your excellency : but of this be pleased to be assured, that we cannot be prevailed upon, to take no notice of, or to treat with the least degree of contempt; a letter so expressive of duty and loyalty to the sovereign, and so replete with just principles of liberty : and your excellency may depend, that whenever we ap- prehend the rights of the people to be affected, we shall not fail boldly to assert, and shall steadily endeavor to maintain and support them, always remembering what we could wish never to
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be forgot, that by the bill of rights it is declared, 'that it is the right of the subject to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal.' " (2)
Aware of the general injunction of the crown to the colonial governors, to prorogue or dissolve their Assemblies, if they ma- Proceedings nifested any inclination to second the designs of the lower house in opposition to the Massachusetts circular, the lower house had - the duty act. taken care to perfect all their purposes, before they returned this caustic reply. That circular was brought under the consideration of that house, as early as the 8th of June, 1768: and a committee was then appointed, consisting of gen- tlemen distinguished for their abilities and attachment to the cause of the colonies, to draft a petition to the king, remon- strating against the late impositions. (3) Before the report of that committee had been received, the message of the governor above alluded to was thrown in upon the house, as if for the pur- pose of checking their proceedings : but the latter discreetly de- layed their reply, until their purposes were accomplished. Hav- ing perfected their petition to the king, and adopted a series of resolves declaratory of their rights, their reply to the mes- sage of the governor was now submitted, adopted, and borne to him by the speaker, attended by the whole house. The governor was at the same time informed, that they were ready for adjourn- ment; and the Assembly was accordingly prorogued : but the transactions of the lower house were so well timed, that the pro- rogation seemed to have proceeded from their own request. (1)
The transactions of this house, at this session, in oppo- sition to the new system of taxation, were characterised by the same unanimity which marked the proceedings of Character of these proceed- the Assembly in resistance to the stamp act; and ings. their memorials, in vindication of their liberties,
(2) Journal of House of Delegates of 22d June, 1768. This message of the lower house was submitted by Thomas Johnson, then a delegate from Anne Arundel, and afterwards the first governor of Maryland under the state government.
(3) This committee consisted of William Murdock of Prince George's, Thomas Johnson of Anne Arundel, Thomas Ringgold of Kent, John Hall of Anne Arundel, James Holyday of Queen Anne's, Mathew Tilghman of Talbot, and Thomas Jennings of Frederick.
(4) Journals of House of Delegates, 8th, 20th, 21st, and 22d June, 1763.
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are at once firm and temperate, fearless and dignified. Their resolves assert, as the exclusive right of the Assembly, the power to impose taxes, and to regulate the internal polity of the co- lony ; and denounce as unconstitutional all taxes or impositions proceeding from any other authority. . Their petition to the king may safely challenge a comparison with any similar paper of that period, as an eloquent and affecting appeal to the justice of the crown. Deducing their claim to relief from their ac- knowledged rights as British subjects, and the peculiar exemp- tions of their charter, they press it upon the crown in the fol- lowing manly and dignified language :
"Our ancestors firmly relying on the royal promise, and upon these plain and express declarations of their inherent, natural, and constitutional rights, at the hazard of their lives and for- tunes, transported themselves and families to this country, then scarcely known, and inhabited only by savages. The prospect of a full and peaceable enjoyment of their liberties and proper- ties, softened their toils, and strengthened them to overcome in- numerable difficulties. Heaven prospered their endeavors, and has given to your majesty a considerable increase of faithful subjects, improved the trade, and added riches to the mother country.
" Thus happy in the enjoyment of the rights and privileges of natural born subjects, have they and their posterity lived, and been treated as freemen, and thus hath the great fundamental principle of the constitution, that no man shall be taxed, but with his own consent, given by himself, or by his representative, been ever extended, and preserved inviolate in this remote part of your majesty's dominion, until questioned lately by your parlia- ment.
" It is therefore with the deepest sorrow, may it please your most excellent majesty, that we now approach the throne, on behalf of your faithful subjects of this province, with all humility, to represent to your majesty, that by several statutes, lately enacted in the parliament of Great Britain, by which sundry rates and duties are to be raised and collected within your ma- jesty's colonies in America, for the sole and express purpose of raising a revenue, this great fundamental principle of the consti- tution is in our apprehension infringed.
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" The people of this province, royal sire, are not in any manner, nor can they ever possibly be, effectually represented in the Bri- tish parliament. While, therefore, your majesty's commons of Great Britain continue to give and grant the property of the peo- ple in America, your faithful subjects of this, and every other colony, must be deprived of that most invaluable privilege, the power of granting their own money, and of every opportunity of manifesting, by cheerful aids, their attachment to their king, and zeal for his service ; they must be cut off' from all intercourse with their sovereign, and expect not to hear of the royal appro- bation; they must submit to the power of the commons of Great Britain; and, precluded the blessings, shall scarcely retain the name of freedom."
This petition, as well as those of the other colonies at this pe- riod, speak the language of men, who hoped success for their
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Non-importation appeals, and trusted to them for relief. Yet such
Association. an inference would be erroneous. The recent measures of the English ministry were sufficient to satisfy the most incredulous, that such expectations were delusions. These remonstrances looked to a different purpose. They were the mere cautionary measures of a people, determined to be in the right, and to make the rejection of their entreaties a justification for resistance. The alarm of slaves leads to submission; the ap- prehensions of the freeman do but arouse his energies and nerve his spirit. The menaces of the English ministry, falling upon such a people as the Americans, were the mere signals for resist- ance; and the colonies now betook themselves to a mode of op- position, less questionable and dangerous than open rebellion, but far more effectual than mere supplications. They had dis- covered in their opposition to the stamp act, that the most irre- sistible appeal to the feelings of a tyrannical government is that which reaches them through its interests ; and that the English people were always sensitive and vulnerable, to every measure operating injuriously upon their commerce. This was "the un- dipped heel," which no armor of laws could protect. During that controversy, the colonists had partially adopted a non-impor- tation system, which was followed by the happiest results. It brought to the side of America the great body of English mer- chants interested in her trade, who felt the attack upon her liber-
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ties as an attack upon their own fortunes. The history of that struggle leads us to the conclusion, that without the co-opera- tion of the interested merchants, the efforts of the English patri- ots in parliament, for the protection of the colonies, would in all probability have proved ineffectual. The time had again arrived for the appeal to the pocket nerve; and it was now more ap- propriate, because besides its indirect consequences, it gave the .colonies power to withdraw themselves peaceably from the ope- ration of the new impositions, by declining the consumption of the articles upon which they were laid. A non-importation sys- tem had not only the effect of repelling the approach of taxa- tion ; but it also compelled them to that most effectual safeguard of their independence, dependence on themselves and their own resources. It made them manufacturers by necessity; and the habit once introduced, the recurrence to it became more easy in any future emergency. Thus recommended by its present and ultimate results, the difficulties of the present crisis soon suggest- ed a return to this system.
The proposition to revive it at this period, originated with one of the political clubs of Boston; and, as early as October, 1767, General revival it received the sanction of a public meeting in that of it. city, over which the distinguished James Otis pre- sided as moderator. For reasons which it is not necessary to de- tail, it did not then enlist the concurrence of the other cities, and was soon abandoned by the Bostonians themselves. (5) But if then premature, it was now the last peaceable resort. Remonstrances had failed; and petitions were called factions. The proposition was therefore revived in April, 1768; and let- ters were then addressed by several merchants of Boston and New York to the merchants of Philadelphia, soliciting their con- currence in its adoption. By the latter, it was declined as still premature ; but the design was not therefore abandoned. On the Ist of August, 1768, a non-importation association was formed in Boston, which was followed, in the course of that month, by similar associations in New York and Connecticut. The measure was not, however, generally adopted, until the en- suing session of parliament had dispelled all hopes of relief from
(5) Ist Gordon, 148. Green's Gazette of 19th November, 1767.
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the justice of England. Abandoning their scruples upon the results of that session, the merchants of Philadelphia acceded to the association in April, 1769; and their accession was immedi- ately followed by that of Maryland and Virginia. (G)
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